the Flickering Light in what you call Darkness
by Evide
Summary: Crawling through the dark area, Kouichi had some experiences of his own. Before he became duskmon, he was just a wanderer, and he was surprised when he met Takuya and Tommy there in the darkness with him... [adventure oneshot]


_Disclaimer: I disclaim any ownership over Digimon that I previously have never covered. Which is nothing. I own nothing!_

**the Flickering Light in what you call Darkness**

"Portal of Darkness!" Cerberumon's attack echoed around him as he plummeted downward to the ground which was continuously looking more like Swiss cheese. He tried to avoid it, but he fell through one of the dark portals, just managing to hold onto the very edge which was then knocked away by Cerberumon's swipe.

The newly evolved Agunimon fell into the portal, his movements suddenly slowed by the darkness around him as if he suddenly fell into a big pool filled with jell-O. Then, just as suddenly, he was frozen in his spot. His mind raced, thinking it to be another trick of Cerberumon's, trying to figure his way out, but before his adrenaline-rushing mind could comprehend a thing, he had fallen onto the ground of the area.

And Takuya was unexpectedly himself. "Oh no! What am I gonna do!? I'm so dead!" Takuya muttered to himself in a panic, whipping his head around for a good view of the darkness around himself... to find Agunimon in his spot just behind him, frozen in a taught stance of fight. "Woah-ho! That was _me_?!" Takuya sputtered in disbelief, reaching up to touch the other's armored hand just above his shoulder level.

"Who's there?" Called out a voice from the darkness.

"Huh? What?" Takuya turned around to scan the dark domelike place around him. "Is someone there?" Takuya asked out, wondering to himself if Tommy had accidentally fallen through with him...

"Ye-yes... who's there?" A human figure stumbled into Takuya's vision, and the brunette found the face actually familiar.

"Hey, hey!" He pointed at the boy, who stumbled back at the edge of Takuya's accusing finger. "You're that kid that was on the elevator and the train!" The new boy stared at him with unmistakably familiar blue eyes, and shaggy, short, dark hair.

"W-what?" The boy stuttered, backing away slowly as Takuya put his hand down.

"I saw you! I remember!" Takuya shouted, making the boy reel back slightly.

"Um, I'm sorry... I-I don't think I've ever... met you..." The other boy rubbed his arms absently, looking down.

"Oh... are you sure? I could have sworn I saw you earlier! Or... do you have like, a twin or something?" Takuya asked, rubbing his head but the new boy just stiffened, not uttering a word.

"Uh..." he stayed quiet for a long time, making Takuya twitch.

"Erm, anyway, I'm Takuya! Nice ta meet'cha, buddy. What's your name, pal?" Takuya offered his hand, which the other boy took rather slowly.

"I—I'm... I'm Kouichi."

"Kouichi, huh?" Takuya shook his hand a bit roughly. "Okay, then. So, Kouichi, you have any idea where we are right now?"

"Uh... no" he said, shifting his weight from foot to foot nervously.

"Oh, well, okay." The brunette gave a small smile at him, trying to be supportive. _'Jeeze, this guy is way too shy for his own good,'_ he thought, then turned around to be surprised once again at the sight of Agunimon.

"Hehe, cool isn't it?" Takuya said, watching the other boy gaze at the Warrior's figure in pure astonishment.

"What... what is it? Why's it like that?" He asked slowly, his voice dropping into a low voice, Takuya rubbing his head once again.

"Um, I'm not sure. I think that I became that thing. I think I was a Digimon!" Takuya laughed brightly, trying to cheer up the silence around the two of them that had found them in the mist.

"What's that?" Kouichi asked, rubbing his arms again. Takuya thought he could see a bit of purplish mist when his new companion exhaled.

"What's what?"

"...The thing... you said. What's a 'Digimon'?" He asked, looking at Takuya a bit helplessly.

"Oh, well, you must not much. Me neither; I just got here, but um, these two creatures called Bokomon and Neemon said that they were Digimon and that I was in this place called the Digital World. So I guess I became one of the creatures, Agunimon I think, see?" He said, starting to walk in a circle to inspect his Digimon form, his fire-like sight, rough eyes, red mask...

"O-oh... So, we're in the Digital World now?" Kouichi wondered, looking up around the purple dome area as if searching for some way out.

"Yup, guess so. Some big bad wolf called Cerberumon got me in here. How'd you end up in this place there, buddy?" Takuya asked, curious.

"I uh... I don't know. I uh... I can't... remember." He stuttered out, rubbing his arms again. Takuya felt a bit bad for the guy; he looked so lost and confused.

"Well, don'tcha worry. We'll get outta here okay, see? Doesn't matter how ya got in, but we can get out!" He mock-punched the air around him, grinning wildly at his new friend, a small grin crossing his features.

But the smiles quickly vanished as a monstrous howl echoed around them, reverberating through the cold air to send chills down both boys' spines.

"You won't leave as long as I'm around!" Cerberumon taunted, emerging suddenly from the darkness. He opened his mouth wide and emerald flames began to gather, being sent their way when he shouted, "Emerald Blaze!"

"Woah, hey! Isn't that against the rules or something!" Takuya yelled desperately as he and Kouichi just barely managed to get out of the way. "We're defenseless like this! You can't attack!"

"Sure I can. Emerald Blaze!" The green flame came again, this time the two were ready, scrambling away swiftly. Takuya hissed as Cerberumon and him locked eyes, the brunette glaring coldly.

"What're we gonna do, Takuya?" Kouichi asked, wringing his hands together in a worried manner. Takuya groaned inwardly, _'How the heck and I supposed to know!?'_

"I'll tell you what you'll do! Hand over the spirit!" Cerberumon lunged at them, making the two of them move out of the way in different directions. The dog thing was momentarily confused, then slowly turned in Kouichi's direction, opening his maw.

"Emerald Blaze!" The attack was so close that by the time Kouichi hit the floor to dodge, he was already burned. He cried out a little, instinctively throwing his hands over his head.

"You first, pest! Emerald—augh!" The attack cut off as Takuya rammed the dog in the shin with his foot.

"Hey, leave him alone! Try and catch _me_! That is, if you can!" He was already running, going as fast as his legs would carry him, trying to give Kouichi some time to recover. But Cerberumon was already on his heels. "Augh! No!"

"Ta-Takuya!" Kouichi called, just as the dark digimon was almost on top of him...

When all of a sudden, Takuya ran smack-dab into Agunimon's hard, unforgiving armor. He fell to the floor, watching as Cerberumon towered over him. His mouth fell open in shock and fear, unable to get his voice there...

But the world around him suddenly was changing, the air around his skin heating up and giving him a sense of comfort. There was fire around him, then it was in him, then he was the fire. He was Agunimon again. "Agunimon!"

"Get him, Agunimon!" Kouichi cheered, standing up and smiling.

"Hey, you got it! Pyro Tornado!" His foot connected with the digimon's maw, sending him reeling though a sudden hole out of the dome area, screaming and howling as he flew out.

Agunimon bounded quickly towards the opening, stepping out before he turned and extended his hand. "C'mon, Kouichi, let's go!" But when said boy ran over and was about to take the digimon's hand, the edges of the hole started to sink in quickly, shrinking. Kouichi was still trapped on the inside of the dome, Agunimon's hand holding onto his, and they both knew Kouichi wouldn't make it out.

"Ah!" Kouichi let go, frowning, and Takuya frowned sympathetically.

"I'm sorry! I'll come back for you!" The brunette shouted as the dome closed, and he couldn't see Kouichi any more. He had to push the image away though as he turned back on his battle. By the time he'd finally scanned Cerberumon, he knew that they may never see eachother again, and there wouldn't be a way to reach him, and so, he never spoke of it. Takuya just hoped that he would be alright. After a while Kouichi seemed to fade to the least of his problems, and he forgot about him. And that was it.

———————————————**the Flickering Light in what you call Darkness**

"Mama! Mama!! Wait, mama, please!" Tommy ran and ran, his little legs stumbling over eachother as his hands swung wildly at his sides. But no matter how fast he seemed to go, the smiling woman never got any closer. She waved at him, muttering a soft farewell, and continued to move beyond his childish grasp. The young brunette still moved along through the darkness, gasping and choking on sobs, calling out over and over. He then fell, gasping and panting, feeling the darkness around him swirl and buffet him. Suddenly, the images of his friends surrounded him and he started to drown under their constricting arms.

Takuya, who he looked up to as a brother, the one who protected him. Takuya's glare was far too harsh for his usually kind features, and his gloved hands were too smothering to be his.

Koji, the one who could figure anything out, the problem solver. Koji wouldn't let him breathe, and his blank, cold eyes were something unheard of in Koji's usually light-filled gaze.

JP, probably his very closest friend, and the most strong of the team; the eldest and the wisest. JP's strong hold constricted him, the total opposite of how he always felt when with the bigger boy, as if he would give him a little push in the right direction. But now he couldn't even move his arms and legs to fend him off.

Zoe, whom he admired greatly for her caring, passionate personality, her tough attitude, even when in the face of danger. Zoe's evil grin didn't fit on her motherly face, which usually adorned a soft of soft grin that always reminded him of his mother.

His friends, they were constricting him, they held him back. He couldn't move, he couldn't get to his mother. "Mama!" He cried and cried, trying to free himself from his friend's harsh grasp. But he couldn't move, he was being smothered.

That was when something pushed all the weight off of him, and Tommy laid still, gasping for breath as tears poured from his eyes and his little hands still held around his head in defence. There was a soft, warm hand gently pushing his arms down, a sort of gesture that made him relax.

"Mama...?" He whispered desperately, hoping it to be true, sniffling as he looked up to see someone familiar... but... why...? "Koji?" He asked, totally startled.

"I'm sorry... your mother can't hear you from here." No, it wasn't Koji. He did look a lot alike, but he was much kinder and gentler than Koji had ever been to him; plus, he looked a little different somehow... He had shorter hair, and a gentler smile, with the same dark blue eyes as Koji. Eyes that looked a bit torn, but also very loving and sad. Tommy forgot about his mother and stopped crying to stare at the new boy in surprise.

"Who are you?" Tommy wondered with a quiet breath. The elder boy just smiled slightly.

"My name is Kouichi." He said, sitting down and facing Tommy pleasantly.

"I'm Tommy! Nice to meet you!" Tommy gave him a smile and laughed, making Kouichi grin at him softly. "Kouichi, what is this place?" He asked, suddenly remembering that he didn't know where he was, looking around and not noticing the sudden frown that overcame his new companion.

"...You are in the darkness, Tommy. Sorry." He whispered softly, glancing at the blackness at his feet distractedly.

"What... or who was it that attacked me? I mean, it was my friends, but they would never do that to me! Are they really my friends?" He asked desperately, looking to Kouichi for an answer, who sighed silently and continued to gaze into the darkness.

"No, they were only shadows. They weren't real." He sighed sadly, making Tommy look back at him.

"Oh. How long have you been here, Kouichi?" Tommy asked in curiosity, hoping the new boy would answer. Kouichi turned his head up to look at him, but Tommy couldn't read the expression as there was a sudden blinding light that separated them both.

"I'm afraid this is goodbye, Tommy. I just have one favor; just don't tell Koji, okay?"

'_Koji? ...How...?'_ His flittering thoughts were cut short by a blinding light. The brightness seemed to wipe away everything in his mind, so that when he next opened his eyes, he didn't remember anything. Not of the darkness, nor of Kouichi. And that was it.

——————**End**

Mostly inspired by Linkin Park's "Crawling in the Dark" or is the title "Looking for the Answers"...? Either way, it's a good idea to listen to Linkin Park to get a good feel for this. "Crawling" or "In The End" or "A Place For My Head"; any of those are fine. And I don't own those either. The title comes from the play of my cuzin's Myspace name, actually (haha).

Anyway, if you were confused, it was just a little something that ran through my mind after I rewatched Frontier over and over. I mean, what was Kouichi doing (rather than Duskmon) before he met the others? In this story, the idea is that he's kinda wondering in the 'darkness' a long time before he gets his spirits. Takuya stumbles in and meets him early on, and then later Tommy finds him from the episode "Welcome To My Nightmare." You know, whatever. Interesting, ne?


End file.
